The Danger of Gossip
In our world, gossip is seen as a harmless and fun activity. In our culture, we refer to gossipping as “spilling tea”, “small talk”, etc.
But what does the Bible say about gossip? The Bible commonly refers to gossip as murmuring or complaining. Both words stem from the Hebrew word “tluwnah” meaning lofty or exalted. When we gossip, we take a position of pride and try to control what others think about someone. This behavior is the antithesis of the Fruit of the Spirit.
The Lord does not take kindly to gossip for several reasons:
It sows discord among people (Proverbs 6).
Gossiping (or any spoken word) has the power of life and death, and gossip is not edifying to anyone (Proverbs 18:20-21, Proverbs 12:3-7, Proverbs 17:27-28, Proverbs 26, Psalm 34:13, Titus 3:1-2).
It can damage the reputation of the one being gossiped about. But also, it can kill your witness as a Christian. You cannot gossip about people and expect God to entrust you to minister or comfort people. (Ephesians 4:29, Colossians 4:6, Proverbs 15:4, 28, Proverbs 17:9, Matthew 15:11, Proverbs 21:23)
You may be speaking against His Anointed men and women, which can bring a curse (See Numbers 12, 1 Chronicles 16:22)
Numbers 12 (Amplified Version)
The Murmuring of Miriam and Aaron
12 Now Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had married a Cushite woman); 2 and they said, “Has the Lord really spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken also through us?” And the Lord heard it. 3 (Now the man Moses was very humble (gentle, kind, devoid of self-righteousness), more than any man who was on the face of the earth.) 4 Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle).” And the three of them came out. 5 The Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tabernacle, and He called Aaron and Miriam, and they came forward. 6 And He said,
“Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I the Lord will make Myself known to him in a vision
And I will speak to him in a dream.
7 “But it is not so with My servant Moses;
He is entrusted and faithful in all My house.
8 “With him I speak mouth to mouth [directly],
Clearly and openly and not in riddles;
And he beholds the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?”
9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Miriam and Aaron, and He departed. 10 But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. And Aaron turned and looked at Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous. 11 Then Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, I plead with you, do not account this sin to us, in which we have acted foolishly and in which we have sinned. 12 Oh, do not let her be like one dead, already half decomposed when he comes from his mother’s womb.” 13 So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “Heal her please, O God, I plead with You!” 14 But the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but [d]spit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? Let her be shut up outside the camp for seven days, and afterward she may return.” 15 So Miriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until Miriam was brought in again [and declared ceremonially clean from her leprosy].
16 Afterward the people moved on from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.
God heard Miriam and Aaron gossiping about Moses because of the wife he married. Even more damning about their gossiping was that Miriam was a prophetess and Aaron was a priest, so they knew better than to speak against a fellow man of God. When the Lord rebuked them, He emphasized how His relationship with Moses was different from the relationship He had with them and how they should have been afraid to do so. The shameful punishment of leprosy was topped off by her reliance on the very one she gossiped about to pray for her healing.
How many times do we act like Miriam or Aaron? As Christians, we know we should not gossip but yet we find other people and their situations as the topics of our conversations. This is especially true if the person is anointed - you will have all the more made your own way hard (Proverbs 13:15). If we were to stop and think “if it were me being talked about, would I like it” or maybe if we were afflicted like Miriam, maybe we would think twice before talking about people. We should use our words to pray for people and speak life. If you see someone falling by the wayside, do not gossip about them, but instead point out their sin to them privately (Galatians 6:1-5, Matthew 18:15-20).
Fellow saints, I invite you to reflect on your own words. Do you gossip, murmur, and/or complain against others? If so, ask the Lord for forgiveness and repent. I also implore you to ask the person you spoke against for forgiveness as well.